Radiant Tales
by Puppeteer of Hearts
Summary: Exiled from Cruxis, Kratos Aurion flees to a land that has separated itself from the Mana Seed conflict. There, he undergoes a journey that leaves four worlds and many races at stake. Utter destruction of anything that can be called continuity inside.
1. Meeting in the Rain

_Hello! Once again, I'm doing what I do best!  
_**_Ike:_**_ You mean driving everyone else crazy?  
_**_Lloyd: _**_You're new here, aren't you? You have NO idea how crazy this chick can get ...  
Well, there's that, but I was going to say I'm back to "destroy the utter continuity of my two favorite fandoms once again!" :D  
****__Ike: __Oh dear Ashera ...  
_**Lloyd**: I could not have said it better myself ...  
I own nothing other than this idea! Enjoy!

_Radiant Tales  
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Prologue: Meeting in the Rain_

If there was one thing Greil knew he hated right now, it was the weather. Thunder boomed above the small cavern that the man had found, lightning flashing and illuminating the forest of Gallia with frighteningly sharp relief. A faint whimper from his side made Greil look down in guilt as two pairs of blue eyes stared at him, clearly frightened. Wincing, Greil hugged his children closer, watching the stormy skies as he waited for it to break. He was on the run again; Daein's forces had apparently caught word of his location in Gallia, forcing him to take his two children and flee.

"Dad …" Greil looked down at his son, Ike, who clung to his one side. Two worried blue eyes looked up at Greil's face. "Dad, do you think we could find somewhere to go? I'm wet, and Mist looks sick." Greil winced and looked down at his daughter, who was only three. All three of them were soaking wet, but they didn't have a home to go to anymore.

"I hope so, Ike, I do hope so." Greil murmured, rubbing Mist's back as she sniffled and snuggled closer to her father's side. Ike looked up at his father again, but his gaze soon turned to stare out the cave mouth, watching the forest as lightning flashed once more. "Both of you should get some sleep, it's late." Greil told the children, feeling Mist shake her head against his side.

"Don't wanna …" Mist mumbled, beginning to cry. "I miss Mommy …" Greil sighed, but didn't talk about it, still remembering the horror …

Ike's sudden yelp made Greil turn to look at the cave's mouth; standing in front of the place was a large, black dragon with leaf green webbing between its wings and underscales. Standing with a shout, Greil grabbed his axe and stood in front of his children, keeping the weapon between him and the dragon; the dragon's blue eyes widened in shock. **"Peace! Peace, I mean no harm, beorc warrior! I honestly mean no harm!"** He spoke up, sitting back on his haunches to hold his paws open in front of him to show that they were empty. That alone made Greil pause; that was a beorc gesture, not a laguz one. **"I am sincere in this, sir, but I must say, your son has quite the lungs on him." **

"What on earth is a Black Dragon doing in Gallia?" Greil asked in response.

"**What's a family of beorc doing out in Gallia in the middle of a thunderstorm?"** Came the dragon's retort. Greil opened his mouth, as if to retort, but it hung open in silence as he found himself unable to give an honest reply. The black dragon seemed amused, as he lowered himself back onto his forelegs to study the small family. **"I highly doubt you're out here by choice, as it were." **He stated, tail flicking back and forth. **"Did you offend King Caineghis on accident? As far as the lions go, he's very tolerant of beorc."**

"No, I didn't offend anyone … not here, at least." Greil stated, looking away. The dragon seemed amused by the statement.

"**Oh hoh, offended a fellow beorc, have you?" **His tail continued to flicker back and forth, a chuckle escaping his throat. **"And judging by your accent, I'd say that you're from Daein, or that general area. You upset His Royal Highness King Assh –"**

"Noishe, who on earth are you talking with?" A second male voice came from behind the dragon, making both Greil and the dragon – apparently named Noishe – turn as an auburn man in a long, dark violet jacket approached, a red sword in his right hand. Once he was level with Noishe's flank, he looked Greil over. "We're supposed to be hunting for food, not finding lost warriors." He commented, eyes still examining Greil, making the other male rather uncomfortable; red eyes weren't the most pleasant things to have staring at you.

Finally, the man's face twisted in confusion. "Have I seen you before, somewhere? Your face looks familiar, but …" Sword still in hand, the person stepped forward, making Greil blink in confusion as well. Noishe snorted.

"**He's from Daein, if you've ever walked through that grim place, Kratos." **The dragon commented, making both Greil and the newcomer – Kratos – look at him in surprise. Noishe gave them a smug look. **"And while all that is fine and dandy, I personally think we should get back to your place, Kratos. The children our friend has behind him seem quite cold. We can kibitz about familiar faces and past meetings when we get **_**out**_** of the rain."**

"You talk a lot for a dragon, you know that?" Greil commented, and then turned to look at Ike and Mist; Mist was staring at the dragon with wide, frightened eyes, but her older brother seemed more puzzled than anything else. They were both soaked to the bone, like their father, and that ultimately made him sigh and turn back to face Kratos. "I assume your house is close by." He lowered his axe, not breaking eye contact with the swordsman. Kratos looked at the children and nodded.

"You might want to carry one of them, however." He stated, looking at the sky as thunder pealed overhead once more. "The storm might be close to wearing out, but it's still pouring." Greil nodded, scooping up Mist as she ran to him, Ike right behind her. Gripping his father's cape, Ike continued to stare at Noishe, who looked right back at him.

"**What are you staring at me like that for, beorc boy?" **Noishe asked, obviously puzzled. Ike simply stared at the dragon for a while longer, before a faint smile broke out across his face.

"You're funny." The simple statement had Noishe standing there, mouth opening and closing as he tried to figure out how to respond to this. Kratos stared at the Black Dragon in great amusement before shaking his head.

"Bless Ashera; five roaring dragons can't make you fall silent, but two words from a boy Lloyd's age, and you're speechless. Miracles do happen, it seems." The man joked, making Noishe turn to glare at Kratos while Greil coughed to hide a laugh, Ike sniggering madly. Seemingly ignoring the glare the dragon was sending him, Kratos stepped out of the cave. "Let's go; Anna is probably worried." With that, the small group set off through the forest.

Greil wondered only briefly how deep into the forest they were heading, as a few minutes after they passed through the deepest part of the forest, they came upon a small wood house nestled beneath a large tree. A light blazed in one of the windows, making Kratos sigh in relief. "Good, Anna's still up." He picked up his pace slightly. Noishe, who was between the two beorc with his wings extended as a walking rain shelter, shook his head in amusement, but regulated his pace so that both Greil and his children were safe from the rain and yet Kratos didn't get drenched as well.

The moment the door was opened, Kratos was pulled into the room by a brunet woman wearing a forest green dress. "You idiot beorc, what're you doing going out in a storm like this!" she chided as Greil and Noishe slipped into the house behind Kratos, who was giving the woman a weak smile. "Do you think I _want_ to raise Lloyd on my own, you giant goofball?" Noishe rolled his eyes as he shifted to his human form, black and green hair covering his head. It seemed the woman had noticed him, because she turned to the dragon laguz to lecture him as well, the motion revealing two wings in a severely molted state across her back.

'A laguz …?' Greil blinked, staring in shock; it was incredibly rare for a bird laguz to live in the forest of Gallia instead of the mountainous island of Phoenicis, and yet it seemed that the woman who stood there lecturing both Kratos and Noishe _was _a hawk laguz … but why were her wings in such bad shape? The thought would have to wait for another time, as Mist's sneeze made the laguz - who was more than likely the Anna woman Kratos had mentioned earlier – turn to stare at the small family, gold-orange eyes widening in shock. Her eyes took in Greil and his children only briefly before she stepped forward, grabbing a towel off of the table as she passed it.

"What on earth is happening tonight! Have _all _beorc lost their common sense these days, or is it just you males?" She demanded, gently pulling Ike towards her and trying to dry the young boy with a towel. When Ike pulled the towel away from Anna's hands to dry himself off, she relented and shooed him over to a small den, where a fire burned in a fireplace. This left Anna free to turn and glare at Greil, who was still holding a now puzzled Mist. "Honestly! You have two children with you, why on earth aren't you all at home instead of outside in a storm?" Greil winced, and was about to answer when a new voice popped up from the stairwell.

"Momma, what're you – Daddy! Noishe!" Ike's head perked up from within the confines of his towel just as a brunet boy his age jumped down the stairs, racing towards Kratos with a big grin on his face. Kratos stooped to catch him up in a hug, grinning as well. "Ewww … you're all wet, Daddy!" The six-year-old stuck out his tongue at his father, who stuck out his tongue back. Anna shook her head in amusement.

"Lloyd, you should be in bed." She stated, making the boy pout at her.

"But Momma, I wanted to know who was here …" Lloyd pouted, dropping to the floor from where Kratos held him. Landing lightly on his feet, the small child trotted over to where Anna stood in front of Greil, clinging to the edge of her skirt and looking up at Greil and Mist with bright red eyes. "Who's this? Is he one of the laguz that live nearby?" Greil looked down at the small boy in confusion, but knelt to look at him, Mist slipping out of his grip at last to be on eye level with Lloyd.

"I'm not a laguz, little one. I'm … well, right now all I can say is that I'm lost." Greil admitted, making Lloyd giggle softly. "What about you? Are you a laguz?" It honestly didn't matter to Greil either way, and he didn't know if Kratos was a laguz or not, as the auburn had never said if he was or wasn't. Greil looked up in time to see Anna and Kratos share a worried glance, but it was Lloyd shaking his head that caught his attention.

"Nope; Momma's laguz, Daddy's beorc." Lloyd was still smiling, and he now turned his attention to Mist. "Who're you?" He asked, letting go of Anna's skirt to come towards the small girl. Doing so let him catch sight of Ike, who had wandered over to where his little sister was standing, half hidden behind Greil. The two boys stared at one another for a long moment, but both of them grinned in the end. "You're my age!" Lloyd laughed, making Ike snigger in return. "What's with the towel? Are you wet?"

"Yeah … Dad, Mist and I were outside …" Ike nodded, Mist now sneaking over to hide behind her brother, allowing Greil to stand up as all four adults present watched the three children. "I'm Ike, by the way. Who're you?" Ike asked, wondering who his new friend was. Lloyd gave Ike a worried look.

"I'm Lloyd, but why did you go outside? Did that twister a while ago wreck your house?" The small boy seemed genuinely concerned, and it showed in his eyes. Anna smiled and shook her head, leaving into the kitchen for a moment, only to return with a tray of steaming hot mugs that smelt distinctly of chocolate, making all three of the children look up at her.

"Lloyd, can you run upstairs and get some of your old clothes? I don't think Ike and Mist like being wet." She spoke to her son, Mist's aptly timed sneeze making Lloyd nod and quickly trot upstairs while Anna got Ike and Mist situated on a rug near the fire, handing them both small mugs of hot cocoa, a drink that seemed to be quite popular with the younger laguz of Gallia.

Greil watched this for a moment before turning to Kratos, brows knit in concern. "… You live here?" He asked, placing his axe against the wall as Kratos nodded and sat at the table, Noishe sitting on the opposite side. Turning his gaze to Anna as she walked over to the table, Greil nodded at her. "How did the two of you come to live here?" As he spoke, he saw Lloyd jump down the stairs again, clothes in his hand. Walking over to Ike and Mist, Lloyd handed them the clothes before leading the way towards the bathroom so they could change.

"Simple; it was the safest place either of us could think of." Anna responded, sitting down next to her husband. "While Crimea _is_ trying to improve its beorc-laguz interactions, tension with Daein is too high for either of us to be comfortable." The hawk laguz explained, sipping from her mug. "And I was _not_ about to try and take Kratos and Lloyd back to Phoenicis."

"And from what I've been seeing, Begnion is not a good place to be raising our child." Kratos added on, looking at Lloyd as he settled down on the rug, a now dry Ike and Mist sitting next to him. Greil also looked at the children, who were talking about something that he couldn't quite hear, before turning back to look at Kratos and Anna again.

"Lloyd's a Branded, isn't he?" He asked quietly, having heard of the children that were born of the union between beorc and laguz. When Kratos and Anna both nodded, Greil looked back at Lloyd again, who was grinning broadly at Ike while the two shared a joke. "That makes the most sense then … at least here, Caineghis is fair and accepting. It would be suicide for your family to try and move to Daein; there's been stories of groups that stop at nothing to get rid of the Branded." Anna and Kratos' eyes both hardened, and a low growl escaped from Noishe's throat as he sipped on his cocoa. Only an idiot would have missed the fact that the others seated at the table weren't pleased with the news. Deciding to get away from the dangerous topic, Greil turned to Noishe. "And what about you? I thought the dragons never ventured away from Goldoa's borders."

Noishe smiled as his sky blue eyes lightened, mirth starting to chase away his rage. "I'm in a self-imposed exile that most beorc call a pilgrimage. I personally don't see how my clan-mate Dheginsea can stand isolating himself, but ever since his mate died, he's been a very sour person." The Black Dragon's eyes grew serious for a moment. "Although I doubt I'm the only one … Prince Rajajon left a while ago, and Princess Almheda recently married … Speaking of which, you're from Daein, aren't you?" Noishe asked Greil, who immediately tensed.

"I was … but I put that past behind me." He muttered, not wanting to bring up the subject. However, it seemed that his statement only confirmed something for Kratos, because the auburn snapped two fingers.

"Now I remember why your face was familiar at first." He mumbled, eyes locking onto Greil's. "You were General Gawain, weren't you?" Greil stiffened, noticing that Kratos seemed more interested than disgusted. "I thought the rumors said you had died, but since you're sitting here and talking to us it's fairly obvious that that was a lie." Anna lightly smacked Kratos, which Greil wrote off as her way of laughing at her husband. "What happened to make you go a separate way?" Kratos seemed to notice Greil's tense form, because his voice had softened.

Anna gave Kratos a look that seemed to read 'this is all your fault' before reaching out and placing a hand on Greil's arm. "We understand if you don't wish to talk about it; Kratos and I were just wondering what one of Daein's greatest generals was doing all the way out here in Gallia, and under an alias at that." She gave Kratos an arched look again. "Kratos just doesn't know how to ask that sort of thing, save for in a blunt way. I'm trying to get him out of that habit, but it'll take time." Greil saw Kratos' exasperated look, and relaxed slowly, tension leaving his shoulders at a slow, even pace.

"… Ashnard … he is not like his father." Greil spoke slowly, eyes closing. "I was questioning his sanity for a long time, but it wasn't until a few years ago that I found out just how horrible he was …" he didn't want to talk about it … "My wife and I left as soon as we could manage it, and we fled, not wanting Daein to catch word of us. We finally just settled here … but we were found out, and Elena …" Greil shook his head, hating the painful sting of guilt that always surfaced when he thought about what had happened. "She was killed when the two of us were cornered by a group of Daein soldiers. Now I just want to keep Ike and Mist safe."

"Speaking of the children … I think it's bedtime for them." Noishe nodded towards the fireplace, a smile on his face. Greil turned to look with Anna and Kratos, a faint smile working onto his face as Anna laughed lightly, Kratos shaking his head in amusement. Sometime during the adult's conversation, all three children had fallen asleep, Mist leaning on Ike's shoulder while Ike and Lloyd laid back to back on the rug, not stirring even when Kratos walked over and picked Lloyd up.

"Yes, I'd call this bedtime." Kraots chuckled, walking towards the stairs. "Ike and Mist can share Lloyd's room for now; I'll grab extra blankets and pillows." Greil picked up Ike, stopping and staring at the auburn as he went up the stairs; had he just implied that the other family would be staying in the house with them? Anna laughed when she saw the stunned expression on his face, Mist in her arms as she led Greil upstairs.

"Don't think too hard on it; the weather is atrocious, and Kratos has a soft spot for children." Anna smiled. "And you obviously have nowhere else to go for now, and we have plenty of room here. You should stay here until you get your feet back under you, and Lloyd doesn't have any friends close to his age." Opening the door to her son's room, Anna settled Mist on one of the cots that Kratos had placed in the room, Lloyd already dangling half off of one near the window. Greil laughed at the young Branded's position, settling Ike onto the final cot just as Kratos passed by the door.

Handing a set of blankets into the other man's arms, Kratos continued on down the hallway. "The guestroom hasn't been used in a while, but we do keep it clean, and the squirrels stop trying to build their nests in here after Noishe ate the last ones that did so." Greil snorted in laughter at the thought of the Dragon Laguz eating squirrels as the door opened to reveal a tidy room with plain green walls. "The bathroom is down the hall and on the right. Mine and Anna's room is next door if you need to ask anything." Greil nodded, sighing heavily in relief.

"Thank you … You and Anna are kind people."

"Don't worry about it." Kratos waved it off with a casual wave of the hand. "I know what it feels like to be as lost as you are now. … Rest well." With that, Kratos left the room, closing the door behind him. Sighing, Greil sat down on the bed, looking out the window as the rain continued to pour down outside, wondering what to do now that he and his children were out of the weather.

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_Hehehehe ... Yes I am QUITE crazy. XD This idea bit me quite a while ago, so I have a handful of the future chapters already typed up, but I'll wait a while to post them ... let's say ... two weeks until I update this one next? _

_Enjoy, and review please!  
_


	2. Planning Ahead

**_Lloyd: _**_Wow, two weeks went by ... hey, Ike? Where's Li?  
**Ike: **Writing some weird porn fanfic for her own sick enjoyment.  
**Lloyd:** I se - WHAT!  
**Hector: **... Uh, baka, she's been writing porn fics for her own enjoyment since she was a sophomore.  
**Ike: **Who the hell are you?  
**Hector: **I'll tell you while everyone else is reading the fic. *looks towards Li's room as perverse giggling is heard* ... The crazy lady in there owns nobody here in the writing.  
**Lloyd:** Thank god; she might just scar someone if she did._

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Chapter One: Planning Ahead_

"You want to form a mercenary group?" Kratos asked, clearly puzzled by his new friend's statement, if the slice of bacon hanging out the side of his mouth was any indication. It took a lot of self control for Greil not to laugh at the sight, as he had discovered in the past few days that Kratos didn't possess the best table manners around. Lloyd didn't seem to have that sort of problem, as he and Ike were both sniggering at the look on Kratos' face. Giving the two boys an irate look as he finished off the bacon, Kratos turned back to Greil. "What gave you that sort of idea, Greil? Beorc aren't exactly commonplace here in Gallia, so I don't know where you would get recruits."

Greil had to agree with Kratos, but he wasn't one to be deterred so easily. "We're closer to the border of Crimea here, aren't we?" He pointed out, to which Kratos nodded. "Bandits are a real problem in the area, and it probably won't be too hard to – aright you two, knock it off." Greil cut himself off to stop Lloyd and Ike's impromptu poking war, both boys turning to grin at him as if nothing was amiss. "If you're done with breakfast, try to find some way to entertain yourselves that doesn't involve waking Mist up." The toddler was still sound asleep, having tired herself out the past few days exploring the house.

Knowing a dismissal when they heard one, both boys got down from the table and ran outside, neither of them bothering to put shoes on. Once outside, Lloyd grinned and led Ike around behind the house, where Anna knelt in the dirt, working on a vegetable garden; she looked up at the two boys came bounding towards her, making her smile. "Well aren't you two energetic this morning." She teased, knowing that both boys had enough energy in them to last until well after dark.

"Momma, can I take Ike down to the river?" Lloyd asked, pointing towards the bank that ran behind his house. Anna looked at it and the surrounding area for a moment before turning to smile at her son.

"As long as you don't go on the other side of the river and stay where I can see you, go ahead." Lloyd whooped at his mother's permission, and he and Ike were running towards the stream in the next instant, Anna watching them go with a smile. 'They're good children; let's hope they stay that way after they both clear puberty.' She thought to herself, returning to her garden; even though her ability to transform had been lost, Anna still had the eyes of a hawk, so it would be very hard for the boys to slip out of her gaze.

Down at the river bank, Ike skirted to a stop under a large tree and looked up into the branches. "Hey, Lloyd, do you think we'd get in trouble if we – I guess not." Ike turned to ask his friend, only to see Lloyd already leaping at the lowest branch of the tree he stood by. Walking over, Ike watched as Lloyd managed to pull himself up onto the branch, only to reach for the next one. "Are you sure that's safe Lloyd? Those branches don't look good." Ike asked, worried. Lloyd looked over his shoulder and grinned at Lloyd.

"I've climbed this tree a lot before. The branches hold." He called back down, settling himself on a branch that had to be twenty feet above the ground with little problem. "Come on Ike, you can see the mountains from up here!" Ike gave the tree another nervous look, but began pulling himself up it all the same. Several of the branches that he stepped on creaked beneath him, making the blue haired boy glance at them in worry.

Ike was almost to the branch Lloyd was sitting on when the one he stood on broke with a snap. Yelping, Ike let go of the branch he was holding onto, and fell, Lloyd shouting out in fright as he tried to grab his friend's hand. Grabbing at the other branches on his way down, Ike managed to slow his descent enough to roll around in midair, and tucked into a ball to lessen the impact.

A sudden yowl of pain accompanied by a rather soft landing made Ike open his eyes in shock, and was rewarded with the sight of a pair of equally wide violet eyes just inches away from his, framed by orange hair. "Ow … … What were you doing in the tree? Beorc can't climb!" the person Ike had landed on demanded in a girl's voice, making Ike rapidly sit up and fall over backwards in an effort to get away from the other young child. When she sat up, a small pair of cat ears and a thin orange tail came into Ike's view as the girl rubbed her stomach. "You're heavy too; what do you eat, rocks?"

"Lethe, you're not supposed to be over here!" Another boy's voice made both Ike and the cat girl look up as two more young cat laguz appeared, one of them a daintier, longer haired twin to the one Ike had fallen on. The other was a boy a couple years older than Ike and Lloyd, with miss-matched eyes and light blue hair. "Somebody lives here, Lethe, we can't just go running onto their … property …" the boy laguz tapered off as he saw Ike, who stared back at him with wide blue eyes.

"Ike, are you okay?" Lloyd dropped out of the tree nearby, red eyes wide with worry. "I'm sorry, I didn't think the branches would give …" He apologized, giving Ike a worried look as the blue haired boy sat up fully, still looking at Lethe and the other two cats nearby. Lloyd noticed them after a moment, and then blinked. "Where did they all come from? The laguz that live near here don't come by often …" he spoke up, confused. For the next few moments, there was utter silence as the two groups stared at one another.

"… I didn't know _beorc_ lived here …" It was the daintier orange cat that spoke up, staring at Ike and Lloyd with purple eyes. "Who are you two?"

"Ike, Lloyd, what on earth is goi – where did these three come from?" Anna walked down the path, dirt on her skirt and a shovel in one hand. She looked at the three cat laguz in confusion, and they stared back at her with wide eyes. "You three aren't lost, are you?"

"No mum, we were just playing on the other side of the lake." The boy cat shook his head. "Lethe just jumped over here, and Lyre and I came to keep her from getting in trouble; we didn't want to be making a mess of your yard." Lethe – the orange cat Ike had fallen on – stuck her tongue out at her male companion and crossed her arms over her chest.

"How was I _supposed _to know it was a yard, Ranulf?" She demanded, tail flicking angrily. Ranulf sighed.

"Lethe, you can see the house from the other side of the river …" He sighed, shaking his head in exasperation. The third cat – Lyre – walked over to where Anna now stood, staring up at the hawk in confusion as if she was trying to figure out who the older female was; Anna looked down at her and smiled gently.

"Can I do something for you?" She asked, kneeling to be on eye level with the small children. She figured that the cats wouldn't be used to her scent; she was a hawk when all was said and done, even if she had been living in Gallia for the past seven years. When Lyre shook her head and stared back at her shyly, Anna smiled. "Don't be shy; I don't bite, I promise." Looking up, her eyes settled on her son as he stepped closer to Ranulf and Ike walked over to help Lethe up.

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" Ike asked quietly, hoping that Lethe was alright. The cat-girl gave him a long, hard stare, but let Ike help her to her feet. "I didn't know you were under me … am I really that heavy?" Lethe didn't answer right away, but looked Ike over as she brushed off her shirt and shorts. Finally propping her hands on her hips, the orange-haired laguz gave him a crooked grin.

"I'm fine, but you're big for a beorc kid." She stated, tail waving lazily behind her. "I'm just glad you rolled when you did, otherwise I would have really been hurting." With that, she playfully punched Ike in the arm. "You have a name, beorc boy? I'm Lethe." Ike rubbed the shoulder where Lethe punched him, but he grinned back at her.

"I'm Ike." With that, he playfully returned the punch, making Lethe grin all the more at him. Anna shook her head at the two, amused.

'And they say beorc and laguz can't get along …' She thought to herself, standing slowly. "I'm going back to the garden, but I'll call you when it's lunch time. Lloyd, Ike, if either of you find Noishe, tell him that he's on duty to look after the lot of you." She stated, making Lloyd laugh at the thought of the black dragon being stuck with babysitting detail. Lyre, after a moment's worth of thought, clung to Anna's hand.

"Can I help?" She asked. "Lethe plays rough …" Lethe stuck her tongue out at her twin sister, only for Lyre to stick hers out in return. "Well, you do, Lethe!" Anna shook her head at the two girls, and led Lyre up the hill towards the house. The other four children watched them leave for a moment, and then turned to one another, another awkward silence falling over them.

"So … what're we going to do now?" Ranulf asked, breaking the silence at long last. He sighed a moment later when Lloyd and Ike both shrugged, Lethe giving the older laguz a blank look. 'Good grief …' he thought to himself, wondering how he always managed to get himself into this sort of situation in the first place. "How about tag?" Ranulf finally asked after a moment, snapping his finger s as he figured out what they could do.

"Ranulf, the beorc won't be able to keep up." Lethe pointed at Ike and Lloyd, both of whom gave one another blank looks, but didn't try to challenge Lethe's statement; they didn't know much about laguz, so it only made sense that Lethe and Ranulf didn't know much about beorc in return.

"That's okay; it's just to have fun, right?" Ike asked, turning back to look at Lethe and Ranulf with a grin. "Lloyd and I won't slow you down too much. And … Not it!" Ike took off a heartbeat later, Lloyd and Ranulf echoing his shout of 'not it' before taking off as well, leaving a very stunned Lethe standing there for a few seconds before she growled in annoyance, taking off after Lloyd, who had dashed by closest to her. Noishe, who had been nearby the entire time and had heard Anna's statement of him being on babysitting detail, sighed and stood up; leave it to Ike and Lloyd to befriend a couple of _cat_ laguz.

'I'll be worn out long before they all will be …' the black dragon sighed, taking to flight a short distance beneath the leafy canopy, where it would be easiest for him to see all four children. With amusement, Noishe watched as Lethe tagged Lloyd and raced off, only for Lloyd to turn around and go after Ranulf, who got Ike, who got Lloyd back … Noishe could feel a headache beginning to form after about fifteen minutes. 'Oh, Great Ashera, why me …?' He groaned, rubbing his temples as he watched a particularly irate Lethe tearing after Ranulf, the younger cat obviously intent on getting her older friend back for something.

Lethe had nearly caught a hold of Ranulf's tail when Ranulf yelped and did a hairpin turn, leaving Lethe to smack into something rather sold. Thinking it was a tree at first, she growled and turned to go and get her friend when something grabbed a hold of her tail and lifted her into the air, making the young laguz hiss in pain as she tried to get at whoever was holding her tail, only for a deep laugh to make her stop, hair standing on end. "What's this? A little sub-human out alone without a bigger beastie to keep her safe?" Lethe's captor leered as she turned to look at him. Unbeknownst to the filthy bandit, Noishe had been overhead the entire time. Swearing – as he could see more bandits coming from a short distance away – he turned to go and get Anna, Greil and Kratos; dragon or no, Noishe was not good at fighting in such a cramped area.

Hidden nearby, Ranulf only needed one look at the bandit to know what he was; it was a slave taker, and that alone made his blood run cold. All laguz knew what slave-takers meant, and it scared him stiff; Lethe and Lyre's parents had been killed by slavers after the two cats had refused to submit calmly, the only reason the twins had been spared being that they had been playing with Ranulf that day. Seeing them again made the boy's blood boil, and he was just about to leap at the man when a rock flew at the bandit from a tree, hitting him in the head.

"Put Lethe down, jerk!" Looking up into the tree above him, Ranulf was shocked to see Lloyd and Ike both there, the two beorc boys throwing rocks, sticks, and at one point a crabapple that was growing from the tree. Growling, the bandit turned to the tree, forgetting that he still held Lethe by her tail. Not one to waste an opportunity, Lethe grabbed onto the man's arm with her claws and bit down on his wrist, making him yell as he tried to dislodge the girl. A split second later, he had to deal with Ranulf doing the same thing to his other arm, but in cat form.

"Little brats!" He shouted as the second crab apple struck his nose. Fully fed up with the assault from the children, he let go of Lethe's tail and shook her off of him, the cat landing on both feet and tearing off to the tree where Ike and Lloyd were and quickly scrambling up it as the bandit grabbed an axe that had rested beside him. Seeing that he was in danger, Ranulf dropped off of the arm a split second later, and raced away just in time to avoid getting his tail cut off by the weapon. "You'll all be wyvern food when I'm through with you!" The bandit shouted, and went to cut at the tree all four were now hiding in when an orb of darkness rammed into his unprotected side.

"Touch even one hair on any of those children, and _you'll _be food for the dragons." Anna growled out as the bandit turned to look at his assailant. The hawk was obviously infuriated, and the grip she had on the tome she kept on her was tight enough for her knuckles to turn white. "Scum like you are the epitome of why I can't _stand _most of your race! Luna!" A second orb of darkness appeared, this time tinged with a brilliant green light. When it hit the bandit, it exploded far more violently than before, sending the man flying. Anna glared at the corpse for another moment. "And just because you don't see another laguz nearby, don't assume that there isn't; there are those of us who can fly, idiot." She snapped, knowing that the dead man couldn't hear her.

"Go Mom! That was awesome!" Lloyd called from his spot in the trees, making Anna give the children a worried look. When she saw that all four of them were fine, she sighed in relief and went to walk over towards them when the rest of the bandits burst out from under the trees, one of them aiming straight for Anna with a rusty spear. Dodging, she landed a roundhouse kick on the man's shoulder, sending him crashing into one of his cronies.

The next bandits to run toward her were defeated by a blinding flash of violet, which solidified into Kratos with his sword drawn, revealing the Jian's crimson red blade; as he turned, both of the bandits lost their heads, the one right next to them being impaled by the same blade. Nearby, Greil cut another man in half at the waist with a swing from his axe, the momentum from the swing carrying him into the next attack, bringing Urvan down on the charging bandit's shoulder, cutting him open lengthwise. Anna stood again, casting Luna and another dark spell she called Swarm at the bandits Kratos and Greil weren't attending to.

Within moments, the slavers were all dead, leaving the three adults standing. Kratos grimaced, and wiped his blade on one of the downed men's shorts. "Well, that was an interesting way to settle that discussion, wasn't it Greil?" He asked, to which Greil rolled his eyes and hoisted Urvan onto one of his shoulders. Anna looked at the two men for a moment, confusion showing in her eyes. Seeing his wife's look, Kratos nodded at Greil. "He wants to start up a mercenary group to take care of the bandits in the area; it seems like it would actually be a very useful idea in these parts." He paused, and then looked around. "Where are the children?" He asked, to which Anna pointed up into the tree, showing Ike and Lloyd standing there with wide eyes, Ranulf and Lethe on lower branches, both of them in their half beorc shape.

'Where did the laguz children come from?' Greil thought to himself, shaking his head as he arched an eyebrow at the children. "Alright, you four need to get down here; the bandits aren't going to come back to life." He called out, watching with relief as all four dropped to the ground, completely unharmed. "Next time, don't get so far away from the house; if Noishe hadn't been watching you, we might not have gotten out here in time."

"Sorry Dad …" Ike mumbled, looking down at the ground. Lloyd nodded as well, both boys looking honestly apologetic. Lethe gave them all an apologetic look, but it seemed she was still stunned at the fact that a group of _beorc _had come to save young laguz. Ranulf's look was a mixture of apologetic and guilty, as the game of tag had been his idea, and it was partially his fault Lethe had slammed into the bandit.

"Nonetheless, you four should stick close to the yard now." Anna spoke up, brushing off her skirt. "I think we've all had our allotment of excitement for the day." When all of the children nodded in agreement, she sighed and looked at the dead bodies. "Now how on earth are we going to get rid of these? I don't know any fire spells …" Greil and Kratos shared a look.

"We'll handle it, Anna, just make certain the children get back safely." Greil spoke after a moment, waving the children towards the hawk. "And send Noishe down here; we're going to need him." Understanding what the men had planned, Anna rapidly led the children away, her casual mention of it being lunch time making Ike and Lloyd speed up, the appeal of food too much for them to resist; Lethe and Ranulf were right behind them after another moment. Greil watched them go with an amused smile on his face. "Well, I'll say this much, those kids have yet to cease amazing me, and I've only known two of them for longer than a few seconds." He stated, prompting a chuckle from Kratos as the auburn kicked one of the bodies towards another, beginning to form a pile.

"They're children; while it is easy for them to see the views of their parents, it's also easier for them to see past them because of innocence." He stated, running a hand through the dead man's pockets. Seeing the disapproving look Greil gave him, Kratos chuckled weakly. "They usually have useful things on them, not to mention a small amount of gold. It makes burning the bodies easier too, and it's not like they'll need it any time soon." He explained, which only served to make Greil roll his eyes.

"As long as Ike and Lloyd don't pick that up from you, I won't have an issue." He grumbled after a moment, throwing another dead body onto the pile. "These men reek; don't slavers know how to bathe themselves?"

"They probably don't bother; it makes it harder for the laguz to pick up on their scent." Kratos explained, pulling a small purse of gold out of one man's pocket with a smirk. Pulling it open, his smirk grew all the bigger. "Well, this man certainly got paid well for whatever he did." Greil shook his head at his friend's habit, dumping another body onto the pile as Noishe landed next to them in dragon form, rubbing an ear. "Anna gave you an earful for not keeping the kids close, didn't she?" Kratos stated without looking up.

"**Yes; remind me never to get her angry like that again." **Noishe grimaced, the face he made making both Greil and Kratos laugh in amusement at the dragon's misfortune.

* * *

Anna gave the children that were seated outside on the picnic blanket a knowing look, a smile on her face. The instant Lyre had seen her twin sister was safe, she had tackled Lethe to the ground and didn't let her up until Lloyd, Ike and Ranulf pried her off. Mist, who had woken up sometime after the older children had taken off, ran towards Ike on her short legs, trying not to trip as she hugged her older brother's waist.

Now, all six children were sitting down while eating lunch, with Lyre somehow convincing Mist to sit in her lap so she could play with the little girl's hair. As Anna watched them, Ranulf managed to crack a joke to make the rest laugh, the heterochromic cat grinning madly himself. It was a touching scene, one that made the hawk laguz smile in spite of herself; this sort of peace could only last so long though …

"So … what're we going to do now? I don't think we should leave the yard …" Lloyd spoke up, looking around at the others. Lyre still had Mist on her lap, both of the girls giggling and talking about something that to Lloyd sounded like something utterly boring. Ike and Ranulf were both laying on their backs and staring up at the sky through the break in the trees.

"Be lazy?" Lethe commented after a moment, yawning as her tail twitched behind her. "It's nice and warm out, and I don't feel like running around after eating." The other two boys made noises of agreement, but otherwise didn't move from where they were. After a moment, Lethe laid down as well, Lloyd following suit after a second. Lyre just rolled her eyes.

"Just say you want to take a nap Lethe. We both know that's what you're going to be doing at the end anyway." She mumbled, making Mist giggle more. Lethe's response was a lazy growl, one that made Ike laugh. Silence fell after that, and it was actually Ranulf who fell asleep first, his tail twitching happily in his sleep. Mist and Lyre both took a nap as well, the toddler using Lyre's tail as a blanket. The other three laid there, staring at the clouds that rolled lazily above them in the mid-summer sky.

"Those clouds there look like rabbits …" Ike spoke quietly after a moment, pointing at one group of clouds. Lethe and Lloyd both looked, although the awkwardness of the way they were laying made the rabbit shapes hard to see. After a brief look, the three relocated to a larger clearing space, not disturbing the blanket so the other children could still nap.

"I see a smith's anvil … and a paw pad … and a horse …" Lethe counted off after a moment, pointing up at the clouds as well, her tail pointing to another shape that had just formed. "Hey, it's a dragon's head."

"That one looks like a … tiger? No … just a really big cat." Ike pointed at another one nearby. "Wait … no, too shaggy to be a cat …"

"It's probably a lion then, Ike …" Lethe sweatdropped, prompting a weak chuckle from Ike's mouth and a snigger from Lloyd, who was looking around at the clouds as well.

"I see … I see … hawks?" He sounded almost unsure of himself, but the statement made both Ike and Lethe look at the clouds in confusion.

"Where do you see hawk shaped clouds, Lloyd?" Lethe asked, confused.

"Yeah … I'm not seeing any, Lloyd." Ike agreed, shaking his head.

"No … not clouds, but … never mind; I was just seeing stuff." Lloyd dropped the topic, eyes watching the corner of the sky where he had seen a flash of grey, black, tan and brown. 'They're probably here to talk with King Caineghis, if I'm not imagining things …' He told himself, yawning heavily before pointing upward. "There's a shield up over there."

* * *

"Are you _sure_ you heard her, Ulki? I haven't seen hide or hair _or _feather of her, and that should say something if nothing else does." The two hawks that Lloyd had caught a brief glimpse of were hovering nearby, looking for someone while their king Tibarn was in a council meeting with Caineghis. "I mean … honestly, Ulki, it's been what, seven years since we last saw Anna Windwalker? I hate to be called a pessimist, but I highly doubt she's still alive." The younger of the two hawks looked at the older one, dark eyes worried.

"I thought being the pessimist was Tibarn's job, Janaff." Ulki commented drily, ears cocked to hear any stray noise. "And I know I heard Anna … nobody else sounds quite like her when she's angry, and we both know that. She's also the only hawk I've ever known to threaten anyone with becoming rations for the tamed beasts of Daein." Janaff nodded in agreement, a shudder going down the older hawks frame. Anna had been one of the hawk commanders before her sudden disappearance over Begnion's skies, and her rage was something any new recruit feared as much as King Tibarn's himself.

"Yeah, well, you would think she would have sent word to us if she was alive." Janaff added, landing on a tree nearby. "You do realized that if we find her alive out here and don't convince her to come back with us, Tibarn is going to fly out here and drag her ass back to Phoenicis himself." Ulki landed nearby, a snort of laughter escaping him.

"That will be something to see; the king of the hawks dragging one of his finest warriors back to Phoenicis by her tail feathers. He just better hope that she doesn't smack him the instant he lets go …" Ulki tapered off, cocking his head to one side, a look of concentration on his face. Janaff was just about to ask his friend what he was hearing when Ulki pointed to the small house a few miles away. "There, I can hear her coming from the house." Janaff's mouth popped open, and he turned to look at the house, shielding his eyes from the sun as Anna walked out of the house, turning to look for the children.

"Holy … that _is _her, Ulki." Janaff grinned. "You can't mistake Anna Windwalker for anyone else …" Something did seem off about the female hawk to Janaff's eyes, but he didn't really see what it was for a few moments. "Wait … something's wrong with her wings." About ready to open his mouth and call for the other hawk, Janaff instead eeped when Ulki clapped a hand over his mouth; when he glared, Ulki held a finger up to his lips to indicate what he wanted.

"I need to hear; she's talking to someone …"

"Alright, nap time's over everyone." Anna knelt amidst the children, shaking Lloyd on his shoulder. "Come on, you all need to get up and do something creative with yourselves, and I think your friends might have to go home." Lloyd stirred with a yawn, Ike and Lethe both sitting up blearily. Ranulf simply yawned and rolled over, still asleep. Lethe and Lyre took one look at their blue friend, grinned, and then pounced on him, waking Ranulf up with a yelp. Anna laughed. "No roughhousing near Mist; she's not big enough to take a hit from one of you three." She reminded the cats, not moving as Ranulf stood up and hid behind her.

"Mom, is it alright if we go inside?" Lloyd asked, standing up. "We've got nothing else to do out here …"

"Yeah, Aunt Anna, we really don't." Ike added, standing beside Lloyd, rubbing an eye. "At least inside we can play some sort of game … I think I know the rules for rummy still." All three cat's ears pricked up at the mention of rummy, making Anna laugh as she stood up, one of her hands being claimed by Mist as the smallest child looked up at her.

"Aunt Anna … I wanna dwa …" Mist spoke quietly, her blue eyes looking up into Anna's amber-gold ones. The hawk smiled down at her as the older five raced inside, Lloyd saying that he knew where the cards Kratos kept were and was going to go get them while the other four settled around the table, making Anna laugh as she shooed Mist inside as well, telling Ike to get paper and crayons for his little sister. Once all of the children were seated inside and occupied, Anna smiled and walked back out to the garden, going to check on some of the things that she had planted earlier and water them.

Back in their tree, Janaff and Ulki turned to look at one another, faces perfect masks of utter shock. "… Great Ashera, I think the one who called her Mom was a Branded." Janaff spoke weakly, the brunet boy visible in his mind's eye. It had been hard to see, but the hawk had just barely glimpsed the bottom of what was unmistakably a Brand on the child's left shoulder. "The other two beorc children aren't hers though, I don't think; they called her 'Aunt' after all … didn't they?"

"They did, you heard right." Ulki nodded, face ashen. "But … if Anna's a mother to a Branded …! Oh no … Tibarn is _not_ going to like this …"

"Understatement of the century, Ulki, understatement of the century."

* * *

**_Hector: _**_... And THAT is how TV Tropes explains everything.  
_**_Ike: _**_Wow, that was actually quite informative. *thoughtful look crosses face* Now just to keep Mist from finding it ...  
**Lloyd: **Or our parents ...  
**Ike: **Or Li.  
Too late for that one *grins wickedly*  
**Hector: **Oh, go back to writing your porn, unless you have any footnotes to make.  
No, but I do have a couple of co - Wait, how do you three know I was writing porn?  
**Ike: **You giggling like the friggen pervy hyena that you are?  
Don't make me lock you out of the kitchen for a week again, Ike ..._

_Anyway, yes, this is where the continuity for PoR kind of ... shatters (Don't worry, the ToS continuity will join it starting at chapter five XD). But, in all fairness, Ike and Mist _were _born in Gallia, and that's obviously where the cat laguz were from ..._

_Yes, I know having the twins parents killed by beorc slavers is kind of old and cliche, but hey! What else could make Lethe hate most beorc with an unbridled passion? (Probably something similar to whatever made Shinon be an asshole to everybody else, but who knows ...)_

_And finally, YES, I am an Ike/Lethe shipper. this story will EVENTUALLY have Ike/Lethe in it. As for Lloyd, I've got someone planned for him ... (No, not Colette or Sheena *Or Raine* **Or Presea** ***Or Zelos***)_

_With that, I leave you until the next chapter! That'll be in two weeks time, once again, so Aug 10 is when this story will next be updated!  
_


	3. Hawks and Old Friends

_Chapter Two: Hawks and Old Friends_

* * *

"WHAT THE **HELL **DO YOU MEAN ANNA HAS A **BRANDED CHILD**!" Both Janaff and Ulki were cowering before their blatantly furious king, wondering what on earth had possessed them to tell Tibarn what they had seen the afternoon before. It was only when Tibarn towered over them, fury in his eyes that made both of them remember that the rage they were facing now would only get worse if they had withheld the information. "How can you be absolutely certain that it was a … a … a Branded?" Tibarn spat the word out almost like it was a disease, prompting a long stare from the fourth male in the room.

Looking at the Hawk King from over the top of his book, the blond haired, slender heron prince sighed heavily, eyes going back down to his place in the book. "You're handling this better than I thought you would." He commented, sarcasm thick in his voice. Tibarn turned to glower at his charge, who didn't even look up from his place in the book. "Yes, I know you're angry, but did you ever think that she might have _wanted_ the child if she's raising him?" The heron commented, seemingly understanding what was going through Tibarn's head without the hawk having to say anything.

"Even so, Reyson … she should have at least sent word to us that she was alive." Tibarn growled, turning away from Reyson as the heron shook his head. "What on earth would possess her to marry a beorc …" the hawk king growled to himself, beginning to pace as Janaff and Ulki relaxed. "Are the two of you absolutely certain that it was a Branded? It could very well be a young laguz whose wings haven't grown in yet." It was a stretch, Tibarn knew it was, but the thought of one of his former generals having a Branded child horrified him, but not because of the child.

Janaff and Ulki shared a look, and then turned back to Tibarn, Janaff speaking first. "It wasn't just the child himself, sir. Anna's wings were in very bad shape when we saw her. I don't think she could have even hovered a foot off of the ground with how badly tattered they were." He explained, wincing when Tibarn swore and whirled around quickly, his eyes narrowed, glaring out the window.

"So it's already happening … she must have known that this was going to happen to her …" He muttered, rubbing his forehead sorely. After another moment of silence, however, he turned around sharply and faced Janaff, Ulki, and Reyson, who looked up from his book when Tibarn began to talk again; the Hawk King was struggling to control his temper. "I'm going to go talk with her, if only to find out _how _and _why_ she got here in the first place. Call it a hunch, but I have a feeling that it will be an interesting tale." With that, Tibarn walked out of the room, passing Caineghis on his way out.

The large beast king stared at his retreating back for a long moment, and then turned to face Janaff and Ulki with an arched eyebrow. "I take it you two found out something that offended him." He stated, to which both hawks shook their heads.

"They found one of their long missing generals yesterday afternoon with a Branded child, and Tibarn went out to talk with her." Reyson supplied, turning a page in his book as his grey-blue eyes looked up at Janaff and Ulki. "I don't know the details, as it seems like this general went missing around the burning of Serenes Forest and before my arrival in Phoenicis, so I have no notion of who this general would be." Caineghis seemed contemplative, as if in thought.

"Do you happen to mean Anna? She and her beorc husband have been living here for the past six and a half years quite peacefully." He stated after a moment in silence. "I could tell she was a hawk laguz, but she didn't tell me she was one of Tibarn's generals … although, considering how poorly any member of the bird tribe handles beorc after the burning of Serenes, I cannot honestly blame her in that aspect, no offense." Janaff and Ulki both gave one another long looks, while Reyson simply forced himself to concentrate on his book, although Caineghis could see the heron's free hand clenching into a fist. "Rest assured, I don't think either of them will kill one another …"

"Yeah, if they do, Anna will kill the other one." Janaff put in.

"And then she'd bring them _both_ back to life just to lecture them for dying in the first place." Ulki finished with a nod. "She was one of our better generals, and she was quite fast for a hawk. I think she could keep pace with a Raven and still have the strength to rip into a beorc soldier." A lengthy pause filled the area, with Janaff and Ulki looking after one another again, a current of worry passing between them before they took off after Tibarn. "Let's hope his temper doesn't get him in trouble."

"Him? I'm more worried about Anna's beorc husband!" Janaff's voice echoed back through the palace. "If she's not there to knock some sense into Tibarn, the guy just might get gutted, or he could gut Tibarn." Caineghis listened to the exchange, feeling a sweatdrop beginning to run down the back of his neck.

"Are they always like this?" He asked Reyson, who sighed and snapped his book shut.

"Yes, but you learn to tune them out after a few months in their company." The heron prince shook his head. "Personally, I'm surprised that Tibarn hasn't tried to gag them both …"

* * *

Noishe rolled his eyes, but didn't move when Mist and Lyre began to play with his hair, Mist saying that they were going to make him pretty. 'Great Ashera … why do little kids like me so much? I don't particularly like them, that's Kratos who has the soft spot for them!' The black dragon sighed, wondering what he had done to have Ashera punish him like this. At least with the boys and Lethe, they would wrestle about like they were now, and all Noishe had to watch for with them was making certain there were no pulled tails and no biting. 'It's good training when all is said and done, and if Greil and Kratos actually do carry through with making a mercenary group, Lloyd and Ike are going to join it as soon as they can.' Noishe thought to himself, wincing when Mist pulled a little too hard on his black and green hair.

"Ow … ow ow ow ow … Ow!" He hissed, trying to tug his hair out of the three-year-old's grip. "Mist, you're pulling. That hurts!" Finally tugging away, Noishe turned to look at Mist, only to regret it as the toddler gave him the dreaded puppy eyes.

"Sowwy …" Mist mumbled, bright blue eyes watering, sending a jab of guilt into Noishe's heart. Sighing, the black dragon turned around again and let the girls continue on with what they were doing, enduring the tugs by digging his nails into the folds of his robes. Mist and Lyre didn't seem to notice when they were tugging too hard, and frankly, Noishe didn't want to have them _both _do the puppy eyes.

'Why did one of the twins have to be very effeminate and the other a tomboy?' Noishe wailed mentally to himself, watching Lethe as she kicked Ranulf off of her. The three cats had left home shortly before sunset the day before, only to return on the other side of the river after lunch the next day; it seemed that they enjoyed hanging out with Ike and Lloyd, or they knew that they wouldn't get caught by slavers with the adults and Noishe present. 'Either way works, when it all comes down to it.' The dragon told himself, knowing that as they all got older, Lloyd's aura would change from that of a child to a full-grown Branded, and the laguz children might very well grow to hate and fear that feeling.

For now though ... it seemed the only thing any of the four would be feeling for a while to come would be bruises. Noishe couldn't help but wince when Ike's elbow landed sharply on the corner of Lloyd's face. "Settle down, you four; if Anna comes back from her walk to find you four look like you've been through a war, we'll all be in trouble." He stated, relieved when the four broke apart, all of them grinning despite the bruises. 'Little troopers, the lot of them.' He sighed, but stood up. "Let me get you ice, Lloyd; that hit to the face looked like it hurt."

"Not really." Lloyd shook his head, rubbing his shoulder where his Brand was. "Ike didn't hit me that hard, and I pulled away before I could get hit too badly." Noishe looked at him, and saw that the bruise was indeed much smaller than one would assume. Lethe and Ranulf were in slightly better shape, due to their laguz blood, and Ike seemed to be able to take a lot more damage than it seemed.

"Still, I'm getting you ice." Noishe said, as if that was the end of the discussion. Walking into the house, Noishe didn't notice Lloyd sticking his tongue out at the Black Dragon, prompting giggles out of his friends. When Noishe turned to give the children a questioning look, they were just standing there, grinning at him. "… That's mildly creepy. Please stop that." Noishe stated, which only mad the four of them break out into hysterical laughter, implying that freaking out the Black Dragon had been their intent. 'Good grief, what do they have against me?' Noishe thought to himself, sighing heavily as he went to get the ice.

Once the dragon was out of sight, Ike groaned and sat down on the ground, the other three following suit soon after. "I'm out for a while …" He panted, brushing his hair out of his eyes. Lethe grinned at him, and playfully nudged him.

"You keep up well for a beorc." She teased, grinning when Ike shoved her back. Before too much longer they were playfully shoving one another over, only stopping when Noishe walked back out of the house. Giving the two children a disdainful look, he handed Ike the ice to put on a developing bruise on his leg, turning to frown at Lloyd as the brunet walked over to a tree and began to climb it again.

"Lloyd, get down from there. You know your parents don't like you climbing trees …" Noishe began, but sighed heavily when Lloyd ignored him. 'That boy's brand is definitely from a bird tribe, you can just tell …' the Black Dragon thought to himself, hanging his head. When he looked up again, Lloyd was much higher up the tree than he had been earlier, making Noishe slightly nervous. "What on earth are you doing up there!" He demanded, panic beginning to seep into his voice. The other children turned to look, but Lloyd merely grinned down at them from where he sat on a branch, nearly thirty feet above the ground.

"Dad's always talking about how Mom used to fly all the time when he met her. It sounds like so much fun, so one day, I'm going to fly like her too!" The six-year-old laughed, swinging his feet and staring up at the cloudy sky above them all. "And I don't mean like riding a Wyvern or a Pegasus, I mean fly on my own, like Mom used to, and like you, Noishe!" Down below, Lethe snorted.

"Silly beorc, you can't fly." She reminded him, being the ever blunt voice of truth. When Lloyd simply gave her a stubborn 'oh yes I can' look, the young cat grinned, her tail twitching behind her. "The day you can take to the air like that is the day I kiss Ike." She shouted, unaware of Ike's embarrassed look or Mist and Lyre's combined 'ewwww … …' statement; Ranulf merely laughed.

"I'm holding you to that, Lethe!" He elbowed the other cat, both eyes glittering with mischief. Noishe simply groaned, feeling his headache become more serious; why were children like this?

* * *

A little while away, Anna rested beneath a different tree, having needed a little bit of time to herself, which was hard to get with at least three children running around the house. Smiling, she rested her head against the rough bark, watching the sky, only to feel her eyebrows furrow as a dark shape danced in front of the sun, taking on a familiar form. 'Oh, _don't_ tell me …' Anna groaned mentally, only to utter a few choice words she'd picked up from Kratos as Tibarn spiraled down to the ground, having seen her. "What in Ashera's name brought you all the way out here, Your Majesty?" She asked from where she sat, folding her arms across her chest. Tibarn stood in front of her, a sour expression across his face; yup, this was Anna Windwalker alright.

"I could ask you the same thing, General Windwalker." He retorted, wings flapping in irritation behind him. "You're obviously alive and well, despite the news that's reached us in Phoenicis. Why haven't you at least sent word that you're in Gallia, resting and recovering from your injuries?" Tibarn paused for a moment, and then asked, "What happened to you in the first place, anyway? All I know is that you were flying above Begnion's skies with a wing when you were attacked, killing all of your wing except for you, and you vanished." Anna's face darkened, a hand tightening around a fold in her skirt.

"Ferals were what happened." She stated flatly, amber-gold eyes hard. "My troops and I were caught off guard, and they managed to kill all of them and maimed my right wing; I was only able to escape them by diving into what remained of Serenes's Forest. I blacked out shortly after that though, mainly because it felt like they had torn out many of my primaries and all of my secondary feathers. When I woke up … I was in a cage. Slavers had come through the area, and had found me passed out." Tibarn's eyes went from wide with shock over the mention of Ferals – laguz who had lost all ability to transform and were basically mad with bloodlust – to hard and furious at the mention of slavers; although illegal, it seemed that too many beorc hated the laguz for it to die out completely.

Anna didn't seem to notice her former commander's dark look, because she went on, voice cold. "I wasn't the only one; there were females of many tribes; cats, tigresses, lionesses, a few ravens … even some very, very shaggy ones that called themselves members of the Wolf Tribe, but their accents were so thick that I couldn't talk too much with them. There were no males, none at all; the slavers who had taken me were the sick kind, the ones that sell women to men for pleasure dolls." Anna's voice became thick with rage. "I retaliated; quite a few of the slavers lost their eyes when they came to try and show me to a possible buyer. I actually killed one of them, and a customer left with his arm maimed beyond repair." Tibarn could feel a smirk come across his face at that; Anna had been far from helpless, even when captured, just like she always had been. "After that, they shackled me, and only brought me out when they had reached their favorite underground auction, hidden in a rundown barn of all places. The younger wolf girl and a pair of lionesses had already been sold, and I was just brought onto the platform when there was a commotion outside."

Tibarn settled himself down in front of Anna, wings folding to rest across his back. His dark gold eyes quickly saw that Janaff had been right; Anna's wings were in very rough shape, although her right one seemed to be bearing scars from the Ferals' attack. "I'm shocked they kept you after you maimed several of them that badly." He admitted, watching the ex-general's face as she laughed bitterly. "I see … they were trying to sell you off to someone who either liked breaking violent women or was a total masochist, weren't they?"

"They more than likely were; I thankfully never got a chance to find out, as the instant someone opened the door to see what was going on, a fight broke out." Anna's smirk turned triumphant. "It seemed that a beorc swordsman had heard the wails of the other girls, and had come to see what was up. He must have gotten a glimpse of one of the other customers leaving with their 'slave' in tow, and decided to investigate. The slavers didn't stand a chance; by the time I had registered what was happening, most of them were dead, and the beorc had opened the cages for the remaining girls to escape. As if they would; the instant all of them were freed, they turned on them, and the bloodletting was even more severe." A flicker of amusement flashed across Anna's face. "I think the few bidders that _did_ survive the massacre never thought of women as the weaker sex again." Tibarn let out a dark laugh at that, but his curiosity was quipped.

"A _beorc_ swordsman?" He asked, shocked. "What on earth would a beorc swordsman gain from raiding a laguz slave trade? Unless he thought that by rescuing you, he'd impress at least some of the females there." Anna snorted at that.

"Despite what you would think, Tibarn, most beorc men are actually halfway decent men when it comes down to it, and this beorc was no exception." She chuckled, amusement thick in her voice.

"Oh? And how do you know this for certain?" Tibarn asked, only to feel his gut drop out of him at Anna's next words.

"Because the same beorc that broke up the slave auction … is now my mate; Kratos Aurion."

* * *

Greil looked up from where he and Kratos had spent the afternoon cutting wood and navigating the forest, having felt an odd sensation take over him. It wasn't a dark, dangerous feeling, but it set Greil on edge all the same. Looking around, he snorted in annoyance when he saw that Kratos had left the area, probably looking around to see if there were any possible landmarks nearby that they could use for future reference and mapping. Shaking his head, Greil went back to sharpening Urvan's edge, eyes still warily dancing about the clearing.

After the feeling didn't leave once five minutes had passed, Greil began to feel uneasy. Standing, he tightened his grip on Urvan and began looking around. "Alright, I know you're out there … Show yourself." He stated, listening for any warning signs that someone was coming for him. The feeling only grew stronger, and eventually, Greil growled in irritation. "Whatever the hell you are, you better get out here … or I'm going in after you."

A snapping twig behind him made Greil turn, lifting Urvan to block a descending swallow blade, a weapon that wasn't all that commonly used on Tellius. It seemed whoever was using the swallow was not deterred, and used the momentum behind their leap to front flip over the former general to land on both of their feet behind him. Not one to be caught off guard from behind, Greil turned around, bringing Urvan around in a crescent moon swing that moved faster than it appeared, and Greil's attacker had to lean backwards in order to dodge it.

Once they had stopped moving, the two stared at one another, and Greil scowled as he took in the attacker's strange clothing and even stranger appearance. 'That explains it: a Sylvaranti warrior. No wonder his weapon is so out of place here.' He thought to himself, shifting Urvan so that he could be ready to attack again. They Sylvaranti seemed to be of the same line of thinking, two emerald green eyes locking onto the larger male from behind cobalt blue hair. Not wanting to risk getting cut open again, Greil swung with Urvan again, this time getting close enough to draw blood from the startled Sylvaranti, who backflipped away again, not wanting the fierce weapon to cut him in half.

* * *

Yuan was startled, a hand going to press against the gash across his stomach; he couldn't feel the pain, but the sight of the axe cutting through his armor had told the half-elf enough; the person who he had found this dangerously close to the Tellian Renegade base was not to be trifled with. Landing a few feet away, he stared at the man as he leveled Sharona – his swallow blade – into a guard position. Whoever this person was, he was powerful, like most of Tellius' inhabitants, and he stood tall, perhaps as tall as Kratos had been in life.

Thinking about the auburn who had been his closest friend made Yuan's temper flare; Kratos had come here to Tellius on an assignment ten years previously, and a group of Tellians had killed him, burning the remains. At least, that was what Yuan had heard from Yggdrasil; normally, he wouldn't have taken the blatantly insane angel's word so readily, but after Yuan's own forces couldn't find a trace of the older man anywhere, it seemed as though Yggdrasill was telling the truth. Now, just thinking about Tellius made Yuan's blood boil, and the only reason he let himself come to the abysmal continent was because he needed to check up on his men.

While he had been distracted, the Tellian man had charged again, letting out a loud shout as he swung that two-handed axe of his at Yuan again. Coming back to reality with a jerk, Yuan ducked beneath the blade and brought Sharona up in a slash. While the blade missed his attacker's chest, the edge did score a decent slash above the man's left eye, leaving a wound that would more than likely scar over instead of healing completely.

Both parties backed up again, glaring at the other as they began to pace in a circle, hackles up. Both of them had drawn blood, and now it wasn't going to end until either one of the parties were dead, and Yuan was determined to win, if only to feel like he had done something to avenge Kratos' passing. Letting out a growl, the half-elf charged again, swinging Sharona to cut the man's arm off.

A clang of steel on steel made Yuan come up short; another man had arrived, his Jian knocking Sharona off course. "Greil, what on earth is going on here?" the newcomer shouted in a shockingly familiar voice, standing up to reveal blood red eyes hidden beneath auburn bangs. Yuan felt his breath catch, and his eyes widened as he took in that familiar face, which also bore a look of utter shock. "… Yuan?"

"… K – _Kratos!"_ Yuan gasped, brain going blank as two conflicting sources of information clamored inside of his head. Yggdrasil had said Tellians had killed Kratos, and yet here the auburn stood before Yuan, not only dressed in Tellian clothing, but he obviously _knew_ the one that Yuan had just been attacking. "You … You're dead! I'm going crazy, the damn mana here is driving me bonkers, I'm hallucinating … you're not here … you're not here …" He began mumbling, shaking his head in denial.

Kratos winced, not certain about how to respond to Yuan's mumbling. Greil gave him a worried look before glancing over to Yuan, absently putting a clean cloth to the gash Yuan had given him. "Do you know him, Kratos?" He asked after a long moment, only just remembering that Kratos had stated he was from Sylvarant himself, and had crossed over on a Mana Stream*. When Kratos nodded, Greil gave Yuan a nervous look. "He seems very distressed about something … didn't you get word out to him before you came here?"

"I wasn't able to … hold on, I can get him snapped out of this." Kratos muttered, stepping forward. After staring at Yuan panicking for another moment, Kratos growled and smacked the younger upside his head. "Snap out of it, you walking lightning rod!" He shouted, making Greil facepalm at his friend's coarse handling of the situation. It seemed to work though, because the younger shook his head, blinking in shock. Seeing that his friend was coming around, Kratos gave him a worried look. "Yuan, what on _earth _are you doing here? I didn't know you had men here on Tellius."

"What are YOU doing on Tellius?" Yuan retorted, his regular tone of voice coming back to him. "I couldn't get anything out of Yggdrasil about where you had gone until he came back looking angrier than hell and claimed you had been killed by a bunch of Tellian laguz!" Greil stood off to one side, perplexed as to what the two were arguing about. "I came down here to check up on something that my men were studying, and here I find you, alive and well although you have been dead for ten years!"

"Since when has Yggdrasil been rational and sincere about people being dead!" Kratos retorted, praying that he wasn't the only one left who had some semblance of sanity left in him. "I _willingly _left Cruxis once I saw how badly things were going to end, I didn't _die_!"

"… You worked for Cruxis?" Greil's shocked question made both Yuan and Kratos freeze; they had forgotten the other man was there. The look he was giving Kratos was one of utter shock, but he didn't seem all that angry. "… Is that what you meant by feeling lost?" He asked after a long moment had passed, eyeing Kratos squarely. Kratos hesitated, and then nodded.

"Yes … I'm sorry I didn't inform you before, but I, like you, am trying to put that part of my past behind me." He explained, and then nodded at Yuan. "Yuan here has been working against Cruxis for the past several years, underground, of course. Yuan, this is Greil, a friend." Kratos introduced the blue-haired man to Greil, who nodded in understanding. Yuan returned the gesture, and after a long moment, gave Greil a hooked smile.

"You're more impressive than I originally though; Kratos doesn't trust people easily." He stated, making Kratos let out a weak chuckle as he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. Yuan grinned at him. "What? It's true. So, what all have I been missing in regards to your life? You've dropped off the radar so efficiently that I haven't a clue, and your looks only say that you've settled quite well here." He asked, to which Kratos shrugged.

"Nothing too extraordinary, in all honesty." He replied, voice bland. "I am married though."

"You? Married? Kratos, for you, that _is_ extraordinary." Yuan retorted, making Greil laugh loudly as Kratos gave his blue-haired friend a weak glare, embarrassed. "What's next, you have a kid?"

"Yes, actually; a son named Lloyd. He's six." Kratos grinned as Yuan's jaw dropped, the reaction prompting more laughter out of Greil, who was still holding the cloth to the gash on his forehead. Giving him a worried look, Kratos tossed the other male a vulnerary, and then turned back to Yuan. "In all seriousness though, Yuan, what are you doing here? If Yggdrasil finds out that you came here, he'll be furious; nobody in Cruxis has been allowed to come across the Mana Streams to Tellius since the destruction of the Tellian Tower." He pointed out, not wanting to cause the half-elf any trouble.

"Right now, it's mainly me and my men trying to figure out _why_ Tellius has such a dense amount of mana." Yuan explained, looking around at the forest around them with a grimace. "Even right now, I can feel it pressing on me, and it's not the most comfortable experience I've had. How can you stand it here, Kratos?" Kratos shrugged.

"I'm stronger than you, at least physically." He replied, and then showed Yuan his left hand. "And I'm not using a crutch either; I broke _that_ shortly after Anna and I met." Yuan's jaw popped open, but he was unable to ask Kratos anything else as the older male looked up at the skies. "Well, it seems we have to go our separate ways now; it's getting late, and I don't want Anna having to walk all the way out here, if only because of the lecture we'll get." Greil laughed at the look on Kratos' face, the two of them waving goodbye to Yuan as they headed back towards the house.

"Hold on one moment!" Kratos was jerked backwards sharply as Yuan took hold of the scabbard on Kratos' back and yanked his friend backwards. "I've thought you dead for ten years and you just up and leave? I thought your people skills were better than that, jerk." The blue-haired half-elf shouted as Greil turned to watch the scene, clearly amused by the way Kratos gave Yuan a meek look.

"You haven't seen how angry Anna gets when we're late for dinner. On top of that, we've left poor Noishe in charge of the children – Lloyd and Greil's two children and their friends – all day; I'll be shocked if he's still sane when we get back." He stated, rubbing the back of his neck again. "But, if you want, you can stop by and visit when it's convenient." Yuan's eyes didn't relent, but he sighed and let go of Kratos.

"I suppose that would be for the best anyways; I think Renna might start looking for me if I'm gone much longer, and I need to get this cut taken care of." He stated, grimacing as he looked at the wound Greil had given him earlier. Kratos arched an eyebrow and looked at Greil, who shrugged in response. "In all fairness, I _did_ attack him first." Yuan stated, making Kratos look back at him. "It's not something I'd do again, at least not like I did that time." The blue-haired male grinned, and then pushed Kratos towards the direction he had come from. "Now get going; I don't want to be held responsible by your wife if you keep talking with me here!" Kratos laughed, and he and Greil walked off, Kratos waving goodbye as Yuan nodded and warped away to get his wound tended to.

They were partway there when Greil gave Kratos a stern look. "When you said a crutch, you didn't mean one of those soul stealers, did you?" He asked, voice grave. Kratos sighed, and then nodded, face showing he wasn't pleased with the knowledge himself. "And here I thought that it was only those demon's underlings that used those gems. Them and the sacrifices that they used to try and claim from the land." Greil's voice was hard, but he drew a deep breath and clapped a hand over Kratos' shoulder. "I'm glad you managed to get out of that mess before you became one of them." Kratos paused, giving his friend a puzzled look.

"What makes you think I wasn't one of them to begin with?" There was clearly a question in his voice, but Greil's response was a simple, hooked smile.

"Kratos, would any demon care as much for a half-blooded child as you care for Lloyd?" He asked in response, his smile only growing bigger as Kratos gave him a shaky one in return. Letting go of the auburn's shoulder, Greil continued to walk ahead. "Come on; I'm starting to get hungry, and I don't want to get Anna yelling at us." He called back over his shoulder, hoisting Urvan so that the axe rested across the shoulder pauldron that he wore. Kratos grinned back at him, and trotted to keep up with his friend, looking over his shoulder at the building that was hidden from unwanted eyes by the forests and mist.

* * *

*Mana Stream: Mana streams are passages through the Veil between Sylvarant , Tethe'alla and Tellius, and only formed after Tellius broke away from Cruxis' control and destroyed their resident Tower of Salvation. With it gone, the Summon Spirits were freed from the awakening and slumbering cycle that they had shared with their sealed kindred, and the Mana Links were prevented from closing. The result was that the Mana links expanded and became broader, allowing special ships called Vuzlira to pass on them to go between Tellius and the other two continents, allowing communication and trade to flourish. Despite all of this, Tellius isn't too fond of its Cruxis-bound neighbors, and they aren't too fond of its utter disbelief in the Goddess Martel and the Hero Mithos.

* * *

_So, we get into the ToS part of the story. Well, at least getting our feet wet with it, because it'll be more major in the plot when the fifth chapter goes up. ^^ _

_My birthday's in two weeks! :D I'll be eighteen! So, I'll see you on the 23rd instead of teh 24th! until then, enjoy!  
_


	4. Soren

_Chapter Three: Soren_

* * *

(Five years Later)  
"You find anything interesting yet, Ike? There's nothing up here in the trees." A now eleven-year-old Ike looked up at Lloyd, who was perched above him in the trees along the Gallia-Crimea border, where the still-developing Greil Mercenaries had decided to anchor themselves for the time being. Looking down at Ike from where he perched in the tree, Lloyd called out to him again, grinning. "I know you miss having your cat-girl running around to help us out, but Dad and Uncle Greil said we had to learn how to track and navigate without her or Ranulf around to help us out." He teased, laughing when Ike went bright red in the face.

"LETHE IS NOT MY CAT-GIRL!" The blue-haired boy yelled in response, irritated with his Branded friend's constant teasing. Lloyd merely laughed, clinging to the branches around him to keep from pitching forwards towards the ground, where Ike would be able to retaliate. Still blushing, Ike looked away and began walking through the woods. "Come on, we have to find a good camping spot for the night." He muttered, mood darkening somewhat. Lloyd simply laughed more and leaped to the forest floor, landing lightly even though he had been nearly forty feet above the ground.

"Hey, I don't hold her against you, Ike." Lloyd grinned, jogging to catch up with his friend. Ike gave Lloyd a pointed glare, his grip on the practice sword tightening slightly. Lloyd noticed this and backed off, although his grin was still there. "So, what sort of interesting things are we looking for? Odd rocks, dead trees, old ruins –"

"Unconscious people lying in the river … wait …" Ike caught what he was saying, turning back around to where he had caught a glimpse of someone. "Holy … Lloyd, come over here and help me out!" Putting the practice sword away, Ike ran towards the river, Lloyd right behind him. Kneeling beside the unconscious person, Ike rolled them over, brushing dark olive-green hair away from a pale face. "Hey, are you okay? Hey!" Ike shouted, shaking whoever it was they had found.

"Ike, he's still alive." Lloyd reassured Ike, holding his wrist over the pale youth's mouth. "He looks starved though … I wonder if he has a fever." Lifting his hand, Lloyd went and pulled away the dirty headband that was keeping the person's long bangs out of his face, only to stare in shock. "Oh my Goddess … No wonder he's in this bad of shape!" The other boy placed a hand on the youth's neck, checking for a pulse. Ike, who was checking for wounds, looked up at his friend. Seeing the look, Lloyd shifted dirty hair away from the stranger's face to reveal a red mark in the center of his forehead. "He's a Branded, Ike." Ike's eyes widened, and the two friends stared at one another for a good long time.

"We've gotta get him back home … Aunt Anna should be able to take care of him." Ike grunted, shifting his posture so he could carry the unconscious Branded across his back. Looking up at the sky, the blue-haired youth groaned. "Drat, we won't get back in time … let's just set up camp here, and try to get his guy warm." Lloyd nodded in agreement, already clearing an area for the two to put their sleeping bags and a fire pit. Walking towards the area, Ike undid his bedroll and placed the pale Branded on top of it.

"He needs to get clean … and he can use some of my spare clothes until we get back." Lloyd put in, sitting on his heels beside Ike with a wet cloth in his hand. Ike nodded, taking the cloth from Lloyd while the other continued to set up camp. "But how did he get all the way out here? We're miles away from any nearby villages in either country." The brunet continued to talk as he set up the campsite and readied the fire. "My clothes are in the main part of my bag if you want to get out some for him to wear; he doesn't look that tall."

"How can you tell it's a guy? These ratty clothes don't help, and this person has long hair." Ike asked, curious.

"His hands; girl's hands are usually slimmer with thinner fingers." Lloyd responded, not turning around from where he was getting the campfire ready. "I'm serious; look at Lethe or Lyre's hands the next time we see them, or even Deputy Titania's." Smirking when the fire started, Lloyd pulled the food out. "Just get out friend cleaned up and warm; we'll get him fed when he wakes up."

"Yeah … I just hope we can find out why he's like this." Ike agreed, pulling a shirt and a pair of pants out of Lloyd's bag. "Should we burn these rags he's got on?"

"No; that would ruin the food." Lloyd grimaced at the suggestion. Ike laughed at that, and simply discarded the rags off to one side as he continued to try and get the newcomer cleaned up, Lloyd cooking the food while they waited.

_

* * *

He was warm … why was he so warm now? Had he finally just been put out of his misery? No … he could hear something nearby, and he could feel cloth rubbing up against his skin as he rolled over in his sleep. Where was he now? The last thing he remembered was walking along the riverbank, scrounging for something that could possibly feed him just long enough to get somewhere for the evening … Would opening his eyes be worth it? He could hear sounds … What were they? _

_Perhaps opening up his eyes and seeing where he was would be the best thing after all …_

"Oh, good, you woke up." Two red eyes blinked blearily, trying to discern the masses of blue and brown that hovered in front of his vision. "You okay? You were pretty damn battered when we found you." The blue blur smack the brown one, who yelped.

"Aunt Anna would wash your mouth out with soap if she heard you talking like that." The blur spoke flatly before turning to look at him again. "We'll have food ready in a moment, just lie down and rest until its ready, okay?" He blinked, and the shapes began to solidify into two boys a few years younger than him, one with blue eyes and hair and the other with brown hair and red eyes. It was the blue haired one who was talking to him. "Lloyd and I managed to get you cleaned up and took care of some of your injuries, but we're not healers, so just lie down."

"…?" The dark haired youth blinked in shock as he stared at two boys in front of him. Where had _they_ come from? Wait … did the blue haired one say they were cooking food? A quick sniff of the surrounding air did confirm that there was cooking sausage nearby, making his mouth water. But getting up to move only made his side hurt, and he winced. "….!"

"Woah!" The blue haired boy caught him before he fell, laying him back down. "Whoa, it's okay, don't worry, we'll get you food when it's ready. Just lie down for right now; you don't want you're wounds to reopen." The warmth that had been around him was pulled back up to his shoulders, revealing itself as a bedroll. "Sorry we couldn't get you in a bed, but it was too far away for us to get you home without it going dark, and Lloyd and I can't wander around without the sun up." The blue-haired boy gave him a weak smile. "We'll get to our place tomorrow afternoon at the latest, don't worry; we have someone there who's better with injuries than either of us are."

Wait … they were taking them with him? Why would they want to take some_thing_ like him with them? Did they not know what he was? He sunk beneath the bedroll's lip, watching his rescuers as they continued to mill about the fire, talking to one another. The brown haired boy – who the blue haired one had called Lloyd – was the one cooking, his back turned to the dark-haired observer as he let out a noise of satisfaction. "Alright, just let me get more sausage …" He mumbled to himself, reaching behind him with his left arm. It was only by the light of the campfire that the pale-skinned youth caught sight of the odd, wing-like pattern that seemed to be burned into Lloyd's left shoulder.

It was a Brand. One of his rescuers was a Branded? Could that mean that … the blue haired one was also like him? No … No he wasn't; his aura was that of a full blooded human, not tainted like his and Lloyd's was. But … but Lloyd seemed to be good friends with him, or was it just because there was someone else present?

"Hey, Ike, give this to our friend; this food's ready." Lloyd's speech broke through the dark-haired youth's thoughts. Poking his head out of the bedroll, he watched as Lloyd handed a plate of food to the blue-haired one – Ike – who nodded and walked back over to where he was lying, face concerned as Lloyd turned back to the firepit to cook the rest of the food.

Kneeling, Ike handed him the food with a smile. "Here you are; it's nice and warm. If there's one thing Lloyd's good at cooking, it's meat." He stated, helping the weakened Branded youth to sit up. "Do you have a name at all?" He asked, voice full of nothing but kindness. The pale Branded looked up at him from his food, startled. They … they wanted to know his name?

"…" he simply stared at them, not certain how to respond. He couldn't speak; he had trained himself into being so quiet that his voice had almost died from lack of use. The only thing he did know how to do was read, and he could write legibly. But Ike and Lloyd hadn't done anything to hurt him, so perhaps … just perhaps … "… … …!" He winced, a hand going to his throat as he tried to force his vocal cords to work.

"Wh – are you choking?" Ike's voice was worried, and he too moved a hand towards the pale Branded's neck. Lloyd, carrying two trays of food, also walked over, placing both platters on the ground. The older Branded looked at them both with wide eyes; even knowing that Lloyd was a Branded, their concern was still a shock to him. Nobody had … been like this.

It was only then that he realized that his headband – the thing that had kept his Brand hidden – was gone. "…!" Panic sank into him; he had thought they were only being this kind to him because they thought he was a regular beorc, just lost and injured. How could they care for him if they could see that he was a bastard child like this? In his panic, he had completely forgotten that Lloyd was a Branded as well, and the only thing that made sense for him was to get out of there, before the pain came.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Ike yelped as the dark-haired Branded swung at him and Lloyd with a frightened noise. "W – whoa! Hey, calm down! We're not going to hurt you!" While the blow didn't hurt, it knocked Ike over and allowed the older youth to escape, running towards the far side of the fire. Lloyd was already on his feet and taking off after him, leaping into a tree to better chase after the other Branded. "Ow … why did he take off like that? Does sausage make him sick or something?" Ike was thoroughly confused now, standing up and chasing off after the other two.

He could feel the ground beneath his bare, bandaged feet, and it took a lot of strength just to stay standing as he ran. But he had to get away … he had to find somewhere safe … he _had_ to! The thought was snapped out of his mind as Lloyd tackled him in mid-air from behind, making the older Branded boy tumble forward with the younger keeping his arms pinned to his side. When they finally stopped rolling, the elder began to squirm again, trying to get away from his captor when Lloyd, out of desperation, clapped his left hand over the older boy's brand.

It seemed to work, as the blind fear and panic all but drained out of the older boy, and he slumped against Lloyd as Ike ran up towards them, worry obvious in his eyes. "Is he okay, Lloyd?" He called out, skidding to a stop in front of the two Branded boys. Lloyd looked up at him and nodded, breathing heavily. Letting out a breath of relief, Ike knelt in front of the pale Branded, who was still shaking. "Listen, if this is about you being a Branded, I don't care. I've been living with Lloyd for five years, he's my best friend, and he's a Branded. It doesn't matter to me, as long as you're a decent person when it comes down to it. I just want to make sure you're okay, and to do that, you need to trust us."

"Yeah." Lloyd nodded in agreement from where he still held the older Branded, grip loosening somewhat. "We don't know what happened to you to make you like this, but I can promise you that we're not going to leave you dead in a corner of the forest somewhere. And my parents, Uncle Greil, our friends … they won't care either, I can promise you that." Letting his arms drop away completely, Lloyd smiled at the elder. "Don't worry, you're not going to be hurt; at least, not because of us."

The pale Branded sat there, staring at the two with wide, pale red eyes. "…" His eyes were stinging now, looking at the two that were trying their best to make certain he was safe and comfortable, even though they were both younger than him. Everyone else had spat on him on sight, or just flat out ignored him, just because of what he _was_. "…" slowly, a weak smile cracked across his face; he _could_ trust these two, and possibly these two alone. They didn't care about the Brand on his forehead, or about the tainted blood in his veins, but for _him_.

"… So … So – ren … Soren!" He spoke weakly, amazed that he'd been able to force his name out of his throat. The effort sent him into a painful coughing fit, Lloyd and Ike both grabbing onto his shoulders to support him, eyes filled to the brim with worry. They couldn't see the delighted look in Soren's eyes though. It had hurt, but, he had said something. It would probably be the only thing he could say for a while, but still … it was a start.

Ike relaxed his grip when he saw Soren relax. "You okay now?" He asked gingerly, not wanting the older boy to bolt again. When Soren nodded and rubbed his eyes, he smiled. "That's good. Now, come on, we should probably get back to camp." Standing up, he offered Soren a hand, Lloyd already standing. Soren gratefully took it, but the instant Ike let go, he stumbled forward, forcing Ike to catch him again. "Woah!"

"He shouldn't be walking with his feet like that anyway, Ike." Lloyd pointed out, letting Soren lean on him for a moment to catch his bearings. "Do you think you can carry him, Ike? I was going to get into the trees again and run ahead to make certain nothing's gotten at the food." When Ike nodded, Lloyd grinned at Soren. "Don't worry, Ike won't let you drop unless you make him." When Ike had Soren settled across his back, Lloyd leaped up into the trees and raced ahead, the pale red and brown of his clothes flickering out of view amidst the green and brown of the trees. Soren stared at him in shock, blinking with his mouth open.

"I know, it's irritating to watch him do that with no effort." Ike shrugged, beginning to walk back with Soren on his back. Giving Soren a grin while the older boy rode on his back, Ike added, "He's fast too; Uncle Kratos and Aunt Anna have to keep both eyes on him when it's time for us to do chores, otherwise he takes off and will be impossible to find for hours." Soren laughed weakly, which only resulted in another choking fit. "Don't force yourself to talk if it hurts." Ike shook his head at Soren as they continued to walk towards the site.

"…" Soren nodded in understanding, and after that, simply rested his head against Ike's shoulder and dozed until they reached the campsite again, smiling in happiness.

* * *

"Are they not back yet? It's nearly noon." Anna's head poked out of the kitchen window of the old fort that the Greil Mercenaries had claimed as their housing. Situated a few miles away from the main roads into Gallia and Crimea, it was both easily accessible for people to find them and secluded enough for training to take place without anyone coming to interrupt. "You would think that they'd get back here soon; Greil told those boys not to go too far away from here." Anna scowled, gold-hazel eyes darting around the forest. Standing beside her, an eight-year-old Mist stood on her toes to look outside the window alongside her aunt.

"What if they're lost?" She asked, looking up at the hawk as Anna scowled and shook her head. "Father won't be happy if they did get lost …" She sighed, leaning against the windowsill. "I want them to get back soon … Rolf is so boring …" Mist sighed, naming one of the three bothers that had joined the mercenaries. At least, the eldest brother – Oscar – had joined the mercenaries. The middle brother, Boyd, was a year or so older than Ike and Lloyd and was in training (at least most of the time he was; Anna had set him out to gather firewood five minutes previously). Rolf, the youngest brother, was Mist's age. "And Lyre hasn't come by in a while … I hope she's not busy."

"I'm sure she's fine, Mist just – _there_ they are." Anna cut herself as her eyes snagged onto a passing glimpse of red that was her son. Ike was walking alongside him, and the two were talking, but something seemed off. "…? Who is Ike carrying?" Anna asked aloud, seeing another youth riding across her nephew's back. Sighing, she turned to Mist. "I'm going out to greet them and find out who this new friend of theirs is. Call for me if the stew starts boiling over." She told the brunet girl, who nodded.

Walking outside of the inn, Anna found that the youth who was getting a piggyback from Ike was thin and pale, two red eyes looking around the small clearing in wonder and nervousness. "What stray did you two stumble across this time?" Anna called out, walking towards Ike and Lloyd as the two boys grinned at her. Their third companion looked at her with wide eyes, the grip he had on Ike's shoulders tightening slightly. Looking at him, Anna's eyes immediately snagged onto the red Brand on the middle of his forehead.

"This is Soren." Ike jerked his head in Soren's direction, who nodded in conferment, obviously not comfortable with looking Anna in the eye. "We found him unconscious in the river a few miles into the woods; he's got some bad injuries, and he can barely talk without coughing." Ike continued, watching the laguz as she stepped closer to examine the pale Branded herself. Soren didn't seem to be comfortable with this, because he still wouldn't meet Anna's eyes, instead looking at the ground.

"Mom, where's everyone else?" Lloyd decided to distract his mother from her examination, and he looked around the clearing. "Usually Dad and Uncle Greil are out here this time of day with everyone else. And Shinon's targets are out still from last night." Pointing at the bales of hay with bullseyes painted on them, the younger Branded watched as his mother sighed heavily.

"Bandits were spotted nearby, so they're taking care of those; Boyd's gathering wood for later tonight." She explained, and then sighed and returned her eyes to Soren. "As for your new friend here, he needs a bath and clothes of his own before I do anything for his wounds. He'll also need to share a room with you until the two of you can talk with Greil about where Soren's going to go from here." She stated, leading the three boys back into the house.

From his position on Ike's back, Soren stared at Anna's retreating back in awe, although the sight of the laguz still petrified him somewhat. He was going to stay here, at least for a little while? That was a very comforting though, but he was nervous. What if he couldn't stay with them? Ike and Lloyd were the only ones who had ever shown any inclination in keeping him safe and happy, the only ones who had ever shown they had cared. He didn't want to leave … he was safe here.

Anna gave the older Branded a long look. 'I wonder what happened to make him so clingy … Most Branded are so wary of beorc and laguz that it's not funny.' She thought to herself, 'But, considering the way most Branded are treated by beorc and laguz, I suppose it's understandable.' Giving Soren another look, she asked him in as gentle a voice as she could manage, "Do you have some sort of weaponry training, Soren? We're a mercenary group, so it would be best if you could do something in that regard."

Soren stared at Anna for a long moment, pale red eyes locked on her face as he seemed to try and figure out a way to respond. "…!" tugging at Ike's nearest hand, Soren pulled it up and began writing on it, keeping the hand in Ike's line of vision. Ike stared at his palm as the elder continued to write. "'I … was … ta … taught how … to use … wind magic?' Is that what you're trying to tell us, Soren?" Ike asked Soren as the Branded finished writing. Soren nodded, and Ike grinned. "Neat! Apart from Aunt Anna here, we don't have any spell casters. I'll have to talk with Father to be certain you can stay though." Soren seemed to perk up at that, and Lloyd grinned.

"Yeah, Uncle Greil probably will let you stay; there's always a chance that bandits will have mages with them." The younger Branded stated with a grin. Soren smiled back weakly and nodded in Lloyd's general direction just as Noishe entered the room. "Well, Soren, the bathroom is over this way, we should get you cleaned up; you can keep using some of my clothes until we go to town next time." Lloyd grinned, heading down one of the hallways, Ike and Soren following him at a ready gait.

Noishe stared after the trio for a long moment before turning to face Anna. "Where did Ike and Lloyd find that other boy? I could tell he was a Branded, but … not a beast or bird Branded." He asked her quietly. Anna gave the Black Dragon a quizzical look – normally, Noishe didn't raise such a fuss over a Branded or newcomer – but was unable to answer as Mist's yelp told her that the stew was boiling over. Before she could take off, however, Noishe gripped her arm. "I have to go; that's why I was looking for you in the first place. Tell Greil and Kratos I'm sorry I wasn't able to say goodbye." His voice was unusually serious, so Anna merely nodded as the Black Dragon exited the inn. Once outside, Noishe looked around and sighed heavily before taking on his dragon form in a rush of energy. He had to get to Nevassa, and fast.

_

* * *

(Nevassa, Daein …)  
_"My Lady …? My Lady, there is someone here to see you." Almedha looked up from where she sat at her vanity, blood red eyes looking at the maid that stood in her doorway. Shifting nervously, the maid looked away from the queen of Daein as she continued to speak. "He … said it was urgent, and the armsman who told me that he was here said he transformed from a large green and black dragon right before he landed."

"That would be my cousin then; lead him into the gardens, I will meet him there." Almedha stood gracefully, her tone strong. Meekly, the maid nodded and tore off down the corridor, leaving Almedha to brush emerald green hair out of her eyes as she walked down the dark, cold stone walls herself, knowing that if any of the other servants had overhead her, she was simply going to greet her cousin. If Ashnard wanted to talk with her, she would be down in the gardens talking with him, as both she and her cousin loathed sitting inside the castle's sitting rooms.

Turning out into the gardens, Almedha couldn't help but smile faintly at the sight of the older male dragon in front of her. "Noishe, it's good to see you again, dear cousin." She spoke, stepping forward to embrace Noishe as the other Black Dragon smiled at her, the affection in his eyes overshadowing what seemed to be some serious conflict deep within him. "What brings you all the way out here? The last I heard, you were flying in the skies over the Desert of Death." She asked, pulling away to stand under the shade of a nearby tree.

Noishe glanced around briefly, blue eyes checking everywhere to make certain that there was no unwanted pair of ears nearby. "I was, but there was nothing of interest, so I went to visit my old friend Kratos." He stated blandly, as if this were an everyday conversation between them, but Almedha had caught the flicker in his eyes that showed he carried heavy news. "I've been with him for about a month, so I figured it was time to move along again. Come, walk with me, and I'll tell you the details." Almedha nodded, and the two dragons began to slowly walk through the gardens, Noishe talking about his various adventures.

When they were far enough away from the castle to avoid someone passing in the halls overhearing them, and yet close enough to see it at the same time, Noishe let out a heavy breath and turned to Almedha. "I … I found Soren." He dropped his voice so that it was barely over a whisper. However, it was loud enough for Almedha to hear, and her eyes widened rapidly. "He's alive and well, but I have no notion as to how he wound up less than five miles away from the Gallia-Crimea border."

"All the way out there … how on earth …" Almedha whispered, voice soft and choking. "My babe … I thought for so long that I …" Drawing a deep breath, she released it slowly, trying to gather her rattled nerves. "I just hope he is to be well cared for … I can't think of anyone that would be able to care for a Branded child without any fear, now that Elena has left. Although … as long as Ashnard doesn't know where he is … Soren will be safe; as long as he's safe from his father, Soren has a chance to survive."

"What did you tell him in that regard, anyway?" Noishe asked, having only been pulled into the whole affair after Almedha had lost track of her young son, who she had smuggled out of Daein's castle shortly after the capture and corruption of her older brother. "He would have been half a year old when you hid him away, so that rules out him being a stillborn …"

"I spirited Soren away from here in the middle of the winter months, so I told Ashnard that he had fallen ill from the cold and had died." The female dragon's gaze was strong, despite the tears that were starting to shine in those blood red pools. "It is my own foolishness that got me into this predicament, but Soren … Soren deserves something better than the life he would have gotten here." At this, Almedha stepped away from Noishe to stand at the edge of a nearby pond, staring into the water. Several minutes passed in silence before she sighed and turned back to Noishe once more. "Please, Noishe … all I care about is that Soren stays safe. As long as you can guarantee that he won't be found out, then I will be content to suffer for my sins." Her voice was determined, the weight behind each word more than enough for Noishe to take pause before speaking again.

"He will be fine; he isn't the only Branded where he is at right now." He said at long last, a smile coming across his face. Seeing the look Almedha gave him, Noishe explained, "Kratos works with a beorc mercenary group, and it was his Branded son who found Soren in the first place and brought him to safety. Well, him and his close friend, but the fact of the matter is that Soren is with people that will see past the mark on his forehead." When Almedha visibly relaxed, Noishe stared at her for a moment. "Forgive me for seeming forward, Almedha, but … you were never this concerned about another life before, why the change now?"

"… Because Soren is my child, and I want to protect him … even if that means I can't be near him." Almedha looked away, red eyes staring at the flowers nearby. "I can't stand the fear that comes with the thought of Ashnard finding out about him being alive and well … Please, my dear cousin, just keep an eye on Soren for me." Noishe nodded.

"That I shall."

_

* * *

*Cackles madly* Yes I am having fun with this. Destroying the continuity of every fandom I belong to is my greatest joy in life._

_QUICK NOTE: Noise is half Black Dragon, half White Dragon. He has no other blood relationship to Dheginsea and/or his children. Almedha calls him her cousin to keep Ashnard from suspecting anything._

_With that, review, please!_


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